Dauphine-Libere 2010

Brajkovic Leads Dauphine

Meanwhile, Alberto Contador is racing to prepare for the Tour.

james startt

(Photo by AFP/Getty Images)

June 10, 2010 Paris, France: Alberto Contador is no liar. He said at the start of this year's Dauphine Criterium race, a key preparation race for the Tour de France, that he was doing just that: preparing for the Tour. Winning, he said, was not the objective. And despite wearing the leader's jersey for the first three days, he proved true to word on Wednesday. He lost the 47.5-kilometer time trial, as well as the race lead, to Slovenian rider Janez Brajkovic of the Radio Shack team.

That would be the positive spin on the Spaniard's defeat. Others however, might focus on the veritable thumping Contador took, losing one minute, 46 seconds to Brajkovic and finishing sixth on the stage. A year ago in the Dauphine time trial, he lost only 37 seconds over 42.5 kilometers. Contador appeared perfectly content to remain in his "training mode" on Thursday's stage, which finished at the Risoul ski resort in France's southern Alps. Not even this 13-kilometer Alpine climb could tempt the world's greatest climber to push into his reserves. Instead, he let Frenchman Nicolas Vogondy roll away to a rare victory while he simply followed.

"Today was a good day to give the team some practice riding in the mountains," said Contador. "They are in good shape but they have to be in place. What better test than this. It was a long stage and very hot. On the last climb I watched but no one attacked. Plus there was a lot of wind so it was easy to stay on wheels but hard to be alone. I attacked a couple of times just to test myself but it wasn't planned."

As for his poor time trial performance in stage four, Contador cited the dangerous circuit over poor roads filled with speed bumps and roundabouts. "I kept a steady effort throughout the event, but it was out of the question to take risks. I could lose everything," he said.